Satellite-Observed Changes in the Arctic

From: Sam Wormley (swormley1_at_mchsi.com)
Date: 08/18/04 

Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 21:09:32 GMT

Ref: http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-8/p38.html
 
  Satellite-Observed Changes in the Arctic

  The Arctic has warmed by about 1°C in the past two decades. That time
  period has seen glaciers retreat, permafrost thaw, snow cover
  decrease, and ice sheets thin.

  Josefino C. Comiso and Claire L. Parkinson

  The Arctic is one of the most inaccessible areas on Earth. Extreme
  cold and adverse weather make the region inhospitable, and its
  central component, the Arctic Ocean, is covered by sea ice that is,
  on average, about 2−3 meters thick. That ocean spans 14 million
  square kilometers and is bordered by Russia and Europe on the east
  and Alaska, Canada, and Greenland on the west.

  The Arctic plays important roles in Earth's climate system. It serves
  as an energy sink and could provide an early signal of climate change
  because of feedbacks associated with the high albedo and insulation
  effects of the snow and ice that blanket much of the region.1 A
  warming trend, for instance, may diminish the snow-covered areas,
  which then reflect less of the incident solar flux, thus triggering
  further warming. In an era when anthropogenic global warming is a
  contentious issue, studies of the Arctic are increasingly important.
  Scientific reports over the past several years have indicated
  substantial and coherent physical changes to the Arctic's glaciers,
  permafrost (frozen soil), and snow- and ice-covered areas.

See: http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-8/p38.html

Quantcast